The Warren Axe & Tool Company was founded by William J. Sager, M. T. Christopher (Sager's son-in-law) and W. T. Dana in 1893. Also involved in the company were three of William Sager's sons; Frank, W. Ross and Martin Luther. Prior to getting established the manufactory in Warren, W. J. Sager had gained experience in a number of other axe and tool making companies located in Pennsylvania. There are references but no details known related to his involvement with a company in Ohio and companies in parts of the Northeast.

When originally established the axes the company produced were called BADGER AXES. That line appears to have been eclipsed by other lines but was apparently continued for quite some time. In 1895, two years after the company was established, W. J. Sager received a patent for a chemical process for treating axes. The brand name SAGER became the brand directly associated with the axes the company produced that were made involving the patented process. Starting in the early 1900s, the company also made a line of logging tools under the brand name BULL DOG. They also advertised that they used the Sager process when making many of those other tools.

Unlike a number of other major axe manufacturers, the Warren Axe A. & T. Co. did not join with the American Axe & Tool Company. Like a number of other independent axe manufacturers of that time, the Warren Axe & Tool Co. suffered in the Financial Depression of the 1890s and by 1899 the company was experiencing serious difficulties. This led to the hiring of Herbert P. Stone as General Manager and Treasurer. Stone eventually decided to locate and hire the best plant superintendent in the industry. He reportedly did that when he hired D. W. Murphy, a man who had been the superintendent of the Jamestown facility of the American Axe & Tool Co. Murphy had established himself as top superintendent and after relocating to Warren he continued to distinguish himself in that capacity until his son W. J. Murphy took over the same job. W. J. Murphy remained in that position until the 1940s.

During the early years of his involvement H. P. Stone continued to enlarge the company and increase their offerings. In 1904 a complete line of logging tools called the Bull Dog Line was added. In 1907 the American Drop Forge Co. of Wayland, NY was purchased and the equipment was relocated to Warren. That movement may have taken a number of years as references have been reviewed that indicate the final move was completed in 1912. In 1916 the Warren A. & T. Co. acquired what had become the Romer Axe Co. plant in Dunkirk, NY. The Romer Bros. Mfg. Co. had become part of the A. A. & T. Co. and the Dunkirk plant fell into disuse after the A. A. & T. Co. relocated the bulk of the equipment. It appears that the plant was then reopened under the name Romer Axe Co. Interestingly some of the brand names and labels previously associated with the Romer Axe Co. were adopted and offered by the Warren Axe & Tools Co. for some time afterward.

A previous acquisition in 1912 involved the Ridgway Axe & Tool Co. of Ridgway, Pennsylvania. Soon after it was purchased the equipment was relocated to St. Catharines, Ontario, where new facilities were constructed and the Canadian Warren Axe & Tool Co. was launched with Mr. Herbert P. Stone as the President.

The Warren Axe & Tool Co. remained in existence until 1950 when it was sold to the Collins & Co. of Collinsville, Connecticut. Collins continued to use the Warren plant until 1958 when they sold off all the equipment and property.

When Collins & Co. purchased the Warren Axe & Tool Co., they also acquired all the rights to the brands and patterns that Warren A. & T. Co. owned. Some brands were continued in order to supply existing accounts but over a period of time the goods was made in Connecticut. Collins relinquished all the Warren brands and patterns when they subsequently sold out to the Mann Edge Tool Co. of Lewistown. Pennsylvania in 1966.

(See section of Canadian Warren Axe & Tool Co. and Collins & Co.

NOTES:

1. References have been observed related to Sager & White, a company that is believed to have preceded the G. White Axe Co. Quite possibly the Sager that was involved was William J. Sager’s father or some other relative but it wasn’t the William J. Sager that invented the Sager Chemical Process.

2. Indications suggest that William J. Sager may have been displaced from his position and involvement with the Warren Axe & Tool Company shortly after Herbert P. Stone (General Manager and Treasurer) became involved with the company. Whether Sager maintained an interest in the company is unknown but he did become involved with another company. That company was named the Louisville Axe & Tool Co. They were located in Louisville, Kentucky.

Alaskan Axe

Badger Axe Best

Big Black

Black King

Blue Flash

Bodarc

Bull Dog Celebrated Warren Demon

Forest King

H. W. C. Axe

Hiawatha

Lake City

Matchless

Monarch

Old Faithful

Romer

Sager

Sager Chemical

Sager Special

Solid Silver Steel

Soo Brand

(Used in Canada after

the merger with Pink)

Uncle Sam’s

Warren A & T Co.

Emblems used in advertising, in catalogs and on envelopes.

BRANDS ASSOCIATED

WITH THE WARREN AXE & TOOL CO.

Facsimiles of labels that had a close similarity to many used by axe manufacturers located in Maine.

Facsimiles of labels that included more well known brands. The initials H. W. C. in the left hand label and the etching representation was referred to as the H. W. C. brand. H. W. C. stands for Harold W. Conarro who was the general manager of the Warren Axe & Tool Co. from sometime in the 1920s until 1950.

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MORE INFORMATION:

Cross reference other articles published on the YesteryearsTools web site that relate to this article;

SAGER and CHEMICAL PROCESS AXES

CANADIAN-WARREN AXE & TOOL CO.

LOUISVILLE AXE & TOOL CO.

Facsimiles of string tags that were attached to some axes and depicted in some catalogs.

Facsimiles of labels adopted from the Romer Axe Co.

Facsimiles of blue ribbons awarded in the early 1900s to the Warren Axe & Tool Co. Such facsimiles were depicted in some catalogs and included on the back side of some axes.

Facsimile of an axe label in the shape of a shield rather than a rectangle.

Representations of stamped markings used on various Warren axes and other tools. The stampings that included the date ran from 1915-1950. Some included the name SAGER in a straight line, others included in on a curve.

Facsimile of Sager Special Chemical Process labels used on Axes manufactured in the US.

1895-1912

1912-1950

The declaration above is a facsimile of an excerpt from a Warren Axe & Tool Co. catalog dated 1910. Note that the emphasis was on distributing companies located in the Pacific Northwest.